26/10/2025
A habit is simply the brain’s way of creating efficiency, an automatic loop designed to save energy and help us regulate how we feel. Over time, certain actions become linked to relief, focus or comfort, and the brain repeats them automatically, even when they no longer serve us.
Every habit follows the same basic loop:
Trigger an emotion, sensation, or situation (like stress, boredom or restlessness).
Behaviour the automatic response that brings temporary relief (such as biting nails, picking skin, binge eating, hair pulling, smoking or mindlessly scrolling)
Reward a brief sense of satisfaction or calm that reinforces the pattern
Even when a habit feels purely sensory like nail biting, skin picking or chewing it’s usually part of the body’s self-regulation system hence your nervous system has found a sensory way to keep you regulated. These behaviours offer predictable sensations that help the nervous system discharge tension or fill moments of internal emptiness. For example, biting nails may provide a physical sense of control, while smoking or scrolling gives a quick hit of focus or grounding.
The important thing to understand is that the habit isn’t the real problem it’s the brain’s solution for managing an underlying state.
Through hypnotherapy and self-awareness, we help the mind and body discover new ways to regulate that are calmer, healthier and more aligned with your present life.
When the nervous system learns that it can find the same comfort and balance through breath, awareness or positive sensory input, the old habit naturally begins to fade, not through force or willpower, but through retraining the brain’s automatic response.
Never underestimate the power of your mind ❤️
qhhtelena.com.au
Hypnotherapist & Counsellor
